The Lion King IV: Kiara's Pride
by xXxDay-ZxXx
Summary: When Kiara and Kovu ascend to royalty and have their own cub, there is unquestionably going to be some bumps on the road ahead. Can they handle life as both new king and queen as well as new parents to a cub that refuses to listen to anything her parents tell her? T for safety :D


**Prologue**

As the sun rose over the horizon line, staining both the sky and the land a mix of pinks, purples, yellows and oranges, the animals of the Pridelands began to move in a line towards Pride Rock. Young calves and cubs bounced happily, enjoying the journey, while the older animals that had made the same trek before simply walked in silence, small smiles on their faces at the boundless enthusiasm of their young.

Kiara had seen this event twice before in her life; the first time was the day of her birth, when she was so young that she had absolutely no memory of it, and the second time was when Kovu and herself were recognized as lifemates.

As they gathered around the large pile of rocks, every one of them staring up expectantly, Kiara lowered her head to lick the small cub curled up in front of her, cradled between her forepaws. Her rough tongue running through its fur roused the infant, and it blinked its gorgeous emerald eyes up at its mother.

Kovu smiled as he gently licked his lifemate's muzzle, and then sat down on his haunches to admire their offspring. "How is our daughter?" he asked, a soft purr in his voice that he reserved only for when talking about Kiara or, now, the baby.

"Amma is perfect," Kiara smiled. "What a perfect day for a perfect little girl to be born."

Kiara's was still exhausted, her body drained after the strains of giving birth only hours earlier, but she knew that she had to stay awake for the important presentation process. When Rafiki, the ancient baboon, lifted Amma into the air, he was not only showing the residents of the Pridelands their future leader, but he was presenting her to the past kings who were always watching.

Simba and Nala emerged from the cave, stretched out their aged yet still strong bodies, then walked over to the younger couple. Nala smiled and pressed her nose warmly against Kovu's cheek, Simba nuzzled his daughter's muzzle.

Rafiki walked up the stone steps, leaning heavily on his walking stick. With each step, each movement of the stick, the two fruits tied to the top clattered together like two pieces of wood. He smiled at the four of them as he slowly ascended, taking his time in reaching them.

"Are you sure you're okay to do this, old friend?" Simba asked the elder, frowning. Kiara recalled her father telling her that Rafiki had been the one to lift him on his own presentation day, and that was many, many years ago.

"I'm fine, Simba," the baboon chuckled. He lowered his walking stick and cracked one of the fruits open with his bare hands. Using trembling fingers, he scooped up an amount of the juices then crouched down and gently rubbed it over the cub's temple. It blinked, confused, and squeaked softly a few times before settling again.

Carefully, the aged monkey placed his leathery hands under Amma's shoulders, hoisting her up with a soft groan. After nodding in respect to the king, queen, then to Simba and Nala, he carried the cub towards the edge of Pride Rock, where all the animals waited patiently.

Kiara pulled herself to her feet and, walking beside Kovu, followed him. As the Pride Landians below began to twitch excitedly, seeing someone coming forward, Rafiki turned and gave the two royal lions a smile and a wink before turning back around again and lifting Amma as high as he could over his head.

The skies seemed to open up and a large beam of light fell upon the cub, the wind stirred and carried a stream of leaves and feathers that rubbed against Kiara and Kovu, and all the animals below them bellowed out their excitement at the sight of the new princess. Monkeys screamed, elephants trumpeted, antelope and zebras reared and whinnied, and the cheetahs and leopards roared.

As Amma gently squirmed in the baboon's hands, everyone jumped and stood on their hind legs, while the past kings smiled down upon her, knowing that she had a great destiny ahead of her.


End file.
